The cuisine of the Philippines brims with distinctive sweet, sour, and meaty flavors, displaying Spanish, Chinese, American, Dutch, and aboriginal Malay influences that date back over five centuries, making for one of the world’s greatest melting pot of cuisines. There’s pork galore, fermented fish or shrimp paste dubbed bagoong, seafood in sinigang (tart tamarind-flavored soup), and smoky grilled fish and meat. At most places, one can find sisig, a dish incorporating myriad pig parts into one dish, with lots of alternate versions, like milkfish, tofu, or chicken. Another standard is halo-halo, a whimsical shaved ice dessert layered with jackfruit, evaporated milk, coconut gel, rice flakes, and coconut shreds, topped with ice cream flavored with the purple yam called ube.
In NYC, the number of Filipino restaurants is steadily growing, as the cuisine breaks out of its historical neighborhoods. One of those neighborhoods is a five-block stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, which some dub “Little Manila.” And while Jersey City has a concentration of Filipino restaurants and bakeries in two distinct regions, the East Village has a number of establishments, too. Here are some of the best Filipino spots around town.
Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.
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